August, 2003

The improvements to MPanel version 9.4 include:

AutoCad 2004 compatibility now confirmed

A ongoing issue with 2004 occasionally dropping the OLE connection to MPanel has been resolved. There are no other known 2004 issues.

Even tension option added

This allows the cable tension to be defined on a global basis for the model. It is of use if there is a requirement to have the same tension in the cables on different sides of the mesh, ie when floating corner connections are used. It also offers an alternative way to define the cable tension.

Modelling base tensions reported in Info window

The underlying tensions used in the relaxation of meshes are reported in the text window. This can aid in understanding the modelling, in stress analysis, and in specifying cable tensions.

Strict length fixing of simple guys now optional.

The strict length fixing of single guys introduces a small modelling error, usually insignificant. You can now turn length fixing off, and the length is constrained by the link stiffness in options.

Incorrect Entity handling improved on all tools.

If an incorrect entity (circle, point, etc) is selected you now get a helpful description of the error, rather than the old "incorrect entity selected".

Undo grouping made more consistent.

On some systems, the AutoCad Undo command was undoing MPanel commands in bits, ie if Mpanel created 12 panels from a mesh, it could take 12 undo commands to lose them. This is now corrected.

Program startup speeded up.

On some systems MPanel would "hang" for about 5 seconds during startup with nothing showing on the screen. This is now corrected.